The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) are two of the more significant international agencies whose objective is to promote foreign direct investment in less developed countries (LDCs). This is the first detailed treatment of their establishment, the history of their operations, and an evaluation of these operations.

ICSID, established in 1966, facilitates the arbitration or conciliation of investment contract disputes between foreign investors from countries that are signatories of the ICSID...